LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. – The Covenant College Baseball Team (3-0) earned a doubleheader sweep over visiting Emory & Henry College (0-3) Saturday afternoon. The Scots claimed game one by a 6-0 score and held on for a 7-5 win in the final game of the series.
Game One – Covenant 6, Emory & Henry 0
Covenant got on the board with a run in the first inning. After K.C. Simons led the game off with a single to right centerfield. After reaching third base after a pair of stolen bases, a groundout by Perry Rigby drove Simons home.
The Scots added four runs in the bottom of the second to make the score 5-0. With one out and the bases loaded, Simons drove in a pair runs with a single to right field. Scott Gillespie added a sacrifice fly in the inning as well. An unearned run in the third gave the game its final 6-0 margin.
Simons was two-for-three in the contest with two RBI and two runs scored. Micah Mabe earned the win on the mound, striking out five in five innings of work, allowing only one hit.
E&H senior left-hander Aaron Sparks (Troutman, N.C.) suffered the loss giving up five earned runs on five hits and five walks in four innings pitched with three strikeouts.
Game Two – Covenant 7, Emory & Henry 5
Covenant scored single runs in the first and second innings as Andrew Beck homered to left field with two outs in the second for the 2-0 lead.
The Scots doubled their lead with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, driven in by Gillespie's one-out single to right centerfield.
Emory & Henry closed the gap to 4-3 in the top of the sixth. Senior first baseman Bransen Christopher (Hickory, N.C.) drew a walk with one out and came all the way around to score on freshman third baseman Carson Bryant's (Hickory, N.C.) double to centerfield one batter later. A groundout to shortstop on the next at bat by junior designated hitter Chase Kirk (Knoxville, Tenn.) brought home Bryant, who had advanced to third on a wild pitch.
The Wasps got their third run of the frame with their first round-tripper of the year, a solo shot by junior Brandon Lineberry (Hillsville, Va.).
Covenant responded with three unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth to push their lead back to four (7-3).
Down to their final three outs, Emory & Henry pushed two more runs across the plate. Christopher hit a two-run double to left field with two outs to make the score 7-5 The Wasps had the tying run on first base two batters later, but was unable to get any closer as the Scots took game two and completed the series sweep.
Gillespie went three-for-four in game two, adding three RBI to lead the Scots' offense. Jonah Paul earned the win, scattering six hits and three run across 5.2 innings of work with four strikeouts. Alec Mitchell earned his second save in as many days, pitching the final out of the game.
Bryant, Lineberry and freshman shortstop Holden Watkins (Ridgeway, Va.) each had two hits and a run in the game while Christopher drove in a pair of runs and scored a run of his own. Sophomore Garrett Butler (Knoxville, Tenn.) pitched 4.1 innings and allowed three runs on two hits and six walks.
Emory & Henry will be back on the field next weekend when it travels for a three-game set at Berry College. The Wasps and Vikings will play a pair of seven-inning games on Saturday at noon and a single nine-inning contest Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
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